Inclined bed rest



Jan. 19, 1954 1. K. SCHNAITTER INCLINED BED REST Filed Dec. 9, 1949 INVENTOR.

IRVINE K4 SCHNAITTER ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES PAT EN-T OFFICE $666,216 Ifitmiin miti h-iis'f" IrvihKrSehnaitta, Cleveland Heights;()hio Apis 'iestiofi fimb'i 9, 19 19; sfiiflNisflaodf s alants; (0155 327) A further object of'th'e resent invention Iis't'o provid novel powermeans-for Jrai's'ingfthejnE di ed e t om i ine pvs qitmn vel i -ns e Edwi a-fiber qpere d fiv ei a ed, u e s dn l. m ns qrw eleas ne the device so as to return the rest toward its flat 9 9 Z a H a W Qth er objects andadvantagesof my invention will -be" apparent fromtheaccompanying draw; ings; and the description; thereof and; the essen V tial features will" be set forth in the appended claims;

ln the drawings Y g 'gv Lisa perspective view of one form of my deviee intended to be 'operated-by hand;

2 15 an enlarged fragmental elevational view @f-the device of Fig-.- 1 taken from the left' hand end of Fig.-1-;:

Eigr 3*is a perspective view 'ofa- -modified' form of my device intended to be operated 'by' power; while 4:?is; an enlarged fragmentar view taken general-1y from the position of-the -1-i-ne 44 of Fi-gv3/ V, V I A=- p'erson lying in bed often desires tosupporthis-body atan incline seas-to readmore-,;easi1y or to' -accomplishsome other purpose while remainingin= bed: I hav provideoil; asimple device 'fOlffihiSt'PllYDOSG-Whifih; as-shown-in Figs"; 1 and fi comprises awbas'e planar member I D which on fofni of: m device" consists-"of laminated vvbbdsfifier bard oi tme'nke; and anyca'sefis tr ts! 5 emo 'f together-"bye rod fi dfo i '1rfi e i e v' sfia p 1 mg leqfligi; the seat I "and each end of the 'rod lf is b'ent at right figles' as indicated atfl'lc hieh serves thepurpose of holding the emits l5 assembled-to thefrod; F angfserves a further; purpose as will ljater appear. I utilize a rat efi et device for holdingthe struts ii in variousposig tions so as to-hold the inclined'rest atvarious angles-relative to" the normal plane ofthe; bed-.1 In'Figsz 1-" and 2, I haveshown ratchets'" l-B, each" formed in an angle'bracketl9," one leg of each bracket beingfirmly secured to' the; board I 0 by bolts; nuts o'r'r'i-vets and the 'upstandingleg being holldwed' 'out to"p'rovide-the ratchet IB and -aspace "2-0*""if1 which'the ro'd" ['1 moves backand forth: As showxr'in Figs; '1 and zythe 's'trutslfi are 'on-- the laterally outside facesof them-shape bracket so" that the struts are?prevented moving inwardly by thebracketand-are "prevented-from moving ofitwardly by the" ends l-Tw of "rod l1".- Thi's brirtfgsa portfon of the"r0d" [1 adjacent ea'ch '1ink-*l5 in engagement with the ratchets I8 1": Qbviously; asth' frame H is mb'vd upe wa i'dlfthe roe IT arid-'the lowf endsof strilfls'lfi' are dragged jor w dIWan'd r'ideovefi the teeth l-Bfto any p6s1tiOh 'des1red'{attefwhicfith weiht of thTraifie H meme-mattress afidbedflbthes .3 on top of it pushes the struts l backwardly so that the rod I? drops into one of the notches of the ratchet l8 and holds the device firmly in the desired position.

I have provided a novel but simple device for positively releasing the rod I! from each of the ratchets l8 when it is desired to allow the frame H to again go backward toward its flat position. As clearly shown in Fig. l, a pin 2| is rigidly attached to the rod IT at its mid portion with the pin extending rearwardly at right angles to the rod I! as shown in Fig. 1. One manner of manipulating this pin is by means of a strap 22 secured to the rear end of the pin and extending upwardly over the crossbar lie at the top of the frame H. The person in bed may pull upon the end of the strap 22 which will cause the pin 2| and rod I! to oscillate in a clockwise manner, as viewed from the left in Fig. 1, thus causing each end or leg Ha to engage the bottom leg of bracket I9 at the point 23 as shown in Fig. 2, and this will lift the rod I! out of the ratchet [8 into the free space 26 above the ratchet and the rod I! will ride backward over the ratchet because of the bearing of the end Ha at the points 23 upon the lower leg of each bracket. Thus the ratchet is released and the struts will ride rearwardly, allowing the frame H to again return to a fiat position.

While it is not necessary to the operation of my device, snubbing means may be provided to permit the frame H to return toward a flat position gradually rather than abruptly. To this end, I have shown in Fig. 1 dashpot devices 24 wherein a cylinder 24a has a pivotal connection with rod l7 and is provided with a dashpot piston having a rod 24b which is pivotally connected near the front end of the board II! in fixed position. The dashpot is constructed in the usual manner such as the rod I1 moves toward the front end of board ID or toward the right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, the dashpot piston moves freely. Then when the inclined rest is dropped toward the flat position, as the rod l1 moves away from the front end of the board IS, the dashpot devices work slowly so as to permit the device to return gradually toward the flat position.

If desired, helical springs may be placed in the position of the dashpots 24 of Figs. 1 and 2 so that the springs are loaded as the inclined frame ll moves toward the flat position, which will slow down the movement of the rest as it moves toward the fiat position and will aid slightly in raising the rest to its inclined position.

The operation of the device of Figs. 1 and 2 should now be apparent. A strap 25 is secured to the top bar lie of the frame II and the person desiring to raise the inclined bed rest, does so by pulling upon the strap 25 until the struts l5 have pulled the rod I! as far forward as desired whereupon release of the strap 25 will allow the rod I! to drop into the ratchets [8 at the desired position so as to hold the frame H inclined as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When it is desired to return the device toward a flatter position, or indeed completely fiat, then the strap 22 is pulled until the pin 2] oscillates the rod I! about the ends Ila causing the rod II to be lifted out of the ratchet l8 and permitting the same to return to the rear end of the space 20 as indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 2. The various parts llb, l5, l9 and so forth are so arranged that the parts lie substantially flat along the board l0 when the device is collapsed.

A modified form of my device is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Here the frame H is mounted on the board l0 by the hinge clips M in the manner previously described. Th abutting ends of the tubular frame H are spot welded together at the clip I3 as previously described. Here, power means is provided for raising the frame H to the inclined position. This takes the form of a pair of power cylinders 26, each of which is pivotally mounted at 21 on the board H]. In each cylinder is a piston 28 having a piston rod 29, which in turn is pivotally connected at 30 with one of the sides lib of the frame II. A source of pressure fluid is connected to the lower end of each cylinder by the connections indicated at 3|. This might be either compressed air or oil or water under pressure. Means is provided for holding each of the power devices in any position to which it is extended. While I might use a cooked washer biting into the piston rod 29 for this purpose, I have chosen for simplicity to show in Fig. 4, a dog 32 having a pivotal mounting at 33 on the cylinder 26. I have then formed ratchet grooves 3 1 in one side of each piston rod 29 in position to engage with the dog 32. Means not shown is provided for keeping the piston and piston rod 29 from turning in the cylinder 26 so that the ratchet teeth 34 are always in alinement with the dog 32. A spring 35 urges the dog into engagement with the ratchet. As the power devices 26 raise the frame H to inclined position, the dogs 32 ride down the ratchet 34 and engage in the ratchet teeth so as to hold the device at any angle to which it is raised by the application of power. The power may then be released and the device will stay in the inclined position of Fig. 3.

A simple release means is provided for the dogs 32. This consists of a pair of cords 36 each secured to one of the dogs 32 as indicated in Fig. 4. These are joined at the center to a cord 31 which passes upwardly over the bar lie of the frame I I so as to be within reach of a person on the bed. The device of Figs. 3 and 4 is so constructed that when the frame II is lying in its lowered position, it is held at a slight angle to the horizontal by means of the blocks 38 attached to the board It in a position to lie beneath the sides llb of the frame H. This permits the piston rod 29 to act on the frame ll at a slight angle to the horizontal so as to start the lifting action properly,

The operation of the device of Figs. 3 and 4 is very simple. The person lying upon the bed manipulates a valve connected to the pressure fluid source which is connected to the pipes 3| which are clearly shown in Fig. 3. This raises the rest to the inclined position where it is held in any desired spot by means of the dogs 32. When release is desired, the cord 31 is pulled upon which causes each dog to oscillate in a counterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 4, thus permitting the pressure of the mattress and bed clothes and return the piston 28 backwardly in the cylinder until the device has resumed a substantially flat position.

What I claim is:

1. An inclined bed rest comprising a flat base, a frame adapted to support one end of a mattress and having a hinge connection with said base, a strut at each side of said frame, each strut having one end pivotally connected to said frame at a point spaced from said hinge connection, a rod connecting the other ends of said struts, a ratchet toothed bracket secured to said base and adapted to receive and hold said rod, a leg rigid with and extending laterally from said rod, said leg being longer than the depth of said ratchet teeth, and means for tilting said rod over on said leg to lift said rod clear of said teeth.

2. An inclined bed rest comprising a flat base, a frame adapted to sup-port one end of a mattress and having a hinge connection with said base, a strut at each side of said frame, each strut having one end pivotally connected to said frame at a point spaced from said hinge connection, a rod connecting the other ends of said struts, the ends of said rod extending through said struts and being then bent over at right angles to retain said struts on said rod, a ratchet toothed bracket secured to said base and adapted to receive and hold said rod, said bent over ends of said rod being longer than the depth of said ratchet teeth, and means for tilting said rod over on its ends to lift said rod clear of said teeth.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said last named means comprises a pin rigid with said rod and extending therefrom in a direction opposite from said bent over ends, and a pull member extending from said pin over the top of said frame for quick release of said rod by a person on the mattress. I

4. The combination of claim 1 including snubbing means connected between said rod and said base for retarding the movement of said rod after release from said ratchet teeth.

5. An inclined bed rest comprising a fiat base,

a frame adapted to support one end of a mat- 30 at a point spaced from said hinge connection, a rod connecting the other ends of said struts, a bracket with upwardly extending teeth secured to said base and adapted to receive and hold said rod, the tooth edges normally engaging the rod being substantially vertical, and a pull member attached to said rod and extending substantially vertically over the free edge of said frame so that said pull member will vertically lift the rod from between the ratchet teeth.

6. An inclined bed rest comprising a flat base, a frame adapted to support one end of a mattress and having a hinge connection with said base, a strut at each side of said frame, each strut having one end pivotally connected to said frame at a point spaced from said hinge connection, a rod connecting the other ends of said struts, a ratchet toothed bracket secured to said base and adapted to receive and hold said rod, a rotatable base engaging member carried by said rod so as to lift said rod. as said member rotates, and means for rotating said member,

IRVINE K. SCI-INAITTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 989,888 Adler Apr. 18, 1911 1,060,655 Wood May 6,1913 1,151,894 Meinecke Aug. 31, 1915 2,250,026 Laukhuff July 22, 1941 

